


Bustin' Up On The Beach.

by BreakfastTea



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Brothers, Gen, Mild KH3 Spoilers, Roxas pretends he's uninterested but he's lying, Sora is determined, Ven just has to put up with everyone's recklessness, Yes Ven's the sensible one, grumpy Vanitas, keyblade battles on the beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 07:56:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18361826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreakfastTea/pseuds/BreakfastTea
Summary: Sora will find a way to connect with Vanitas, no matter what. Ven just hopes he's not getting in over his head. Roxas will do anything for peace and quiet (although he loves a good fight, no matter what he says).(AU: What if Sora, Ven, Vanitas and Roxas were brothers who lived and trained together on Destiny Islands?)





	Bustin' Up On The Beach.

**Author's Note:**

> SORRY NOT SORRY FOR THAT TITLE.
> 
> Welcome all to today's Fanfic Friday, a little AU scene based on a request I received. I actually love the idea of these four training together, but at the same time I had to keep Vanitas a bit meaner because otherwise he wouldn't be himself! That won't stop our sweet Sora from trying to win him over.
> 
> Hope you enjoy, Anon #3!

Sora hit the sand. Hard. Winded, he didn’t, couldn’t, move. Staring up at the sky, he tried to decide if any part of his body didn’t throb. Ow, ow, ow. That attack had really, _really_ hurt. He must’ve zigged when he should’ve zagged. He laughed to himself, although it sounded more like wheezing. And he thought he’d been getting better…

A kick in the ribs jolted him out of his daze. "Again."  
  
Sora stared up at Vanitas. "Ow." There was no way he could stand up right now. Just breathing hurt. He sank against the sand, listening to the sound of the ocean. "Why’d you hit me so hard?"  
  
"Your attack was too weak," Vanitas said. "That's why you're on the ground right now. If you wanna hit me, you need to hit me. We’re not playing games. Either you fight to win, or you die."  
  
Die? Wow, Vanitas was taking this training session way too seriously. "We're only sparring," Sora said. “You don’t have to try and kill me like you do with actual bad guys.” Why did everything always have to be so grim with Vanitas? "And you didn't have to aim for my head," he grumbled.  
  
"I will until you learn to guard it," Vanitas shot back. "Get up, or I'll get you up."  
  
Sora tried. He made it halfway before his head hurt so viciously, he knew it was either stop right now or throw up over Vanitas' boots.  
  
(Vanitas hadn't forgiven him for the first time he'd done that.)  
  
"Pathetic," Vanitas said.  
  
“Am not!” Anger flared in Sora’s heart. Anger and hurt. He’d been practicing a lot lately. The Heartless might be gone, the Nobodies too, but who knew what new threat might appear next?

“Are you gonna stand up and fight?” Vanitas demanded.

“I –”

Footsteps approached. "Leave him alone, Vanitas."  
  
Squinting in the sunlight, Sora saw Ven approaching from the dock. He’d probably seen everything as he’d rowed over from the mainland.    
  
"How is it my fault if the kid can't handle it?" Vanitas asked. His Keyblade disappeared. He kicked at the sand. "If he wants to keep up, he needs to get better. Fast. There are plenty of things out there that won’t show him any mercy."  
  
Curaga washed over Sora, taking the headache with it. "Thanks, Ven."  
  
"You need to take it easy," Ven said, holding out his hand. "There's no need to push yourself this hard."  
  
"Tch, I'll leave you two weaklings alone," Vanitas said. "Maybe Roxas will put up a better fight."  
  
Sora jumped to his feet. "He's with his friends. Leave him alone."  
  
"Aw, scared I'll hurt him?" Vanitas sneered.  
  
Sora slumped. "You don't have to be a bully all the time you know. You can just hang out with us."  
  
Vanitas stared at him for the briefest of seconds. Sora saw something in his eyes.  
  
Longing.  
  
Sora smiled. "You're my brother. Can't we just spend a day on the beach?"  
  
Vanitas rolled his eyes and stomped away.

"I wish he wasn't like this," Sora sighed.  
  
"I know you do," Ven said. He wrapped an arm around Sora's slim shoulders. "Come on. We'd better stop him from bothering Roxas too much."  
  
They headed across the beach, following the shoreline. Roxas liked to climb to the island's highest peak. Sora knew he had a thing for high places, and his friends were always willing to follow - usually with ice-cream. Kairi and Xion used their ice magic to keep it from melting on the long journey from the mainland to their island. Sometimes, Vanitas would melt them all, just because he could. Then Axel would fight him and then it’d be a battle royale between everyone because Vanitas really was the most powerful of them all. Even Riku couldn’t take him one-on-one.

Sora shook his head. Vanitas could be really hard work. "Ven?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Sora came to a stop. "Is Vanitas... Is he happy?"  
  
Ven turned back. "I guess he's as happy as he ever is."  
  
Sora frowned. "I know what he said before, about being happy to be pure darkness, but I just... That sounds so... I mean, it must feel so... so sad." He met Ven's gaze. "What if he's sad and he just won't tell us?"  
  
Ven shrugged. "Maybe he is, but it's not up to you to fix everything. It’s up to him to reach out. You know what he’s like. You’ll never make him do something he doesn’t want to do. He’s more stubborn than any of us."  
  
"He doesn't want to be alone, I know it!" Sora knew it because no one wanted to be alone. Not really. “He doesn’t have to rely on the darkness either. That’s not who he has to be anymore!”  
  
"Maybe not. I guess sometimes, you have to trust people to find their own happiness." Ven patted Sora's shoulder. "And maybe you need to quit while you're ahead and stop trying to spar with him on your own.”  
  
Sora perked up.  
  
Ven knew that look. It was a dangerous one, that usually led to trouble and bleeding. "Oh, no, no, no. I know what you're thinking and the answer is no, Sora."  
  
He grinned and ran off. "Roxas! I got an idea!"

Knowing he’d already lost, Ven sighed. Sometimes, younger brothers were just too much trouble.  
  
***  
  
The four of them stood on the beach. Vanitas stood in the centre, surrounded by Sora, Ven and a slightly reluctant Roxas.

“First blood wins,” Vanitas said.

“Blood?” Ven asked. “No blood. First hit wins.” He knew it. He knew this would be trouble.

Vanitas shrugged. “I can’t help it if someone bleeds.”

Ven had a bad feeling. He really shouldn’t have let Sora start this whole thing, but when Sora got it into his head that he wanted to help someone, even if that someone didn’t want or need help, there was no stopping him. Even Roxas looked like he was warming up to the idea of beating Vanitas.

Ven had to hope this would do Vanitas some good. It was hard to tell with him.

"Winner gets a month off from chores," Sora declared.  
  
"When did you last do your chores anyway?" Roxas grumbled. "You're supposed to do laundry this week."  
  
Sora chuckled and scrubbed the back of his head. “I was gonna do it tonight!”

“Liar,” Roxas said.

“Hey!”

"Are you babies gonna whine or are we gonna fight?" Vanitas asked. His Keyblade appeared. "Let's go!"

Sora summoned his own. “There’s no way you’re gonna beat us this time!”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Roxas muttered.

Sora looked over at him. “You love it and you know it.”

Roxas laughed. “Yeah, okay.” His Keyblades appeared. “Let’s go!”

Sora and Roxas threw themselves at Vanitas. Ven hung back. Someone needed to be ready to rush in when those two hit the sand.

Sora got there first, his Keyblade swinging up to meet Vanitas’. Roxas leapt over their heads to attack from behind. Vanitas ducked under the blow, swinging around so both Sora and Roxas were in front of him again. He unleashed a flurry of blows, pushing the younger pair back. A look of joy lit up Vanitas’ features. As expected, his younger brothers didn’t really stand a chance against him.

But they were trying. And Ven could see just how much Vanitas relished it. And he actually was having a little trouble pinning Sora down while he bounced all over the place. And Roxas laughed when he dodged around Vanitas.

Ven realised something else.

Vanitas was holding back. Just a little. Enough to keep it challenging, and to stop anyone from getting really hurt. Nerves flitted through Ven’s stomach, twirling like leaves in a breeze. Could he trust Vanitas not to hurt their younger brothers?

Better safe than sorry. Ven swung into battle.

On Vanitas’ side. If he was going to protect Sora and Roxas, he had to make it look good.

“Got bored just watching huh?” Vanitas asked.

“Nah. Looked like you were struggling,” Ven said, blocking both Sora’s and Roxas’ blows.

“Yeah, right.” Vanitas laughed; a real laugh, not one of his nasty mocking ones. “Took you long enough to make up your mind.”

Ven grinned. He couldn’t help it. Fighting alongside Vanitas felt right. They fell into sync immediately. “Two on two seems a little fairer.”

Sora and Roxas pulled back. Sora glanced at Roxas. Roxas nodded. Both fell into familiar stances. “We’re not giving up!” Sora shouted.

“You better not,” Vanitas said. “Quitters have to swim home.”

The battle raged back and forth across the sand. Ven picked up Vanitas’ slack when he got too intense and left himself open for either Sora or Roxas to dart into his openings and take a swing. Ven had to admit he was impressed with his younger brothers. They had to have been practicing without anyone else knowing. How else could they have come up with such perfectly synchronised blitz attacks?

“Sneaky,” Vanitas said.

“What, you think we only spar with you?” Roxas laughed. “You should go up against Kairi and Xion sometime!” He ran at Vanitas, Keyblades ready for a blow. “Just because you’re our teacher, doesn’t mean we don’t practice when you’re not around.”

Vanitas looked surprised. “I’m… your teacher?”

“Duh,” Roxas said. He skidded to a halt in front of Vanitas, blocking a distracted swing. “Sora, now!”

Sora leapt over Roxas’ head. Vanitas couldn’t get his Keyblade up in time. Sora scored a hit. Ven stared. It was hard to tell who looked the most surprised as Vanitas crashed to the sand.

“I did it,” Sora said, landing on his feet. “I… I won!”

Vanitas responded by kicking Sora’s feet out from under him. Sora hit the ground just as hard as Vanitas. At least he went down laughing.

“Looks like I get a whole month off of chores,” Sora said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Vanitas said. He flipped back to his feet. “You win this round.” He dismissed his Keyblade. “Not bad.”

Sora looked up at Vanitas. “Seriously?”

Vanitas stared down at him. “Don’t leave yourself so open at the end next time. It’s a good way to get yourself killed.”

He walked away, heading for his usual spot on the island’s northern beach. Sora moved to follow, but Ven stopped him.

“Don’t push him, okay?” he told Sora. “You gotta let him come to us in his own time.”

“Yeah, not everyone’s ready to be friends with you,” Roxas said. “Not even your own brother.” He leaned in with a smirk. “When are you gonna accept that not even you can make friends with everyone you ever meet?”

Sora gave him a shove. “Never!”

Ven smiled as the pair descended into their usual wrestling. As Roxas pinned Sora to the sand, Ven turned to watch Vanitas walk out of sight. They might not be a normal family, and they definitely weren’t perfect, but today, maybe, even Vanitas had to realise there was a place for him on Destiny Islands no matter how much he acted like there wasn’t.

Vanitas had seriously underestimated just how determined Sora could be. And how good he was at forging bonds.

“You don’t stand a chance,” Ven murmured to Vanitas’ retreating figure.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading everyone! Be back next week <3
> 
> Don't forget you can find me on [Tumblr](http://breakfastteatime.tumblr.com/) where I'm almost always squeeing about KH or FFXV. My Ask box is always open. Love chatting fic with people ^_^


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